This monster trade package could bring Bryan Reynolds to Yankees

Is sweet-swinging left-handed outfielder Bryan Reynolds of the Pittsburgh Pirates available for trade? Well … is he still on the Pittsburgh Pirates? In that case, the phone lines are at least a little bit open, and the dots continue to be connected to the New York Yankees.

Replacing lefty-swinging Joey Gallo with the composed, efficient and ruthless Reynolds would be like swapping out your tricycle for an Amtrak train. But is it actually plausible? Only if the Yankees surrender the entire farm and possibly someone else’s farm, too. That hasn’t stopped insiders from making the connection, though. So why should it stop us?

Reynolds started off the 2022 season ice cold, hitting .194 in April and .225 in May, though he supplemented that with five homers in the month. Selling out for power isn’t Reynolds at his best, though; he’s a throwback player who just happens to naturally have gobs of pop, too.

In June, things have come together spectacularly; he’s triple-slashing .323/.374/.531, raising his season OPS+ mark to 116 and putting him firmly in the mix for All-Star consideration.

Reynolds is under team control through 2024, so any prospect package sent Pittsburgh’s way will have to be overwhelming. The Yankees and Bucs have been repeat trade partners since the Gerrit Cole deal fell apart, and as long as Brian Cashman apologizes for swiping Clay Holmes at a discount, the two sides could easily connect again.

Or, as Buster Olney sees it, the Blue Jays could swoop in. In other words, the Yanks have work to do.

Yankees and Pirates could agree on these Bryan Reynolds trade packages:

If the Yankees are going to walk away with Reynolds, they’ll have to either:

• Surrender Anthony Volpe or
• Surrender Jasson Dominguez, and give up a little more on the back end

If the Bombers agree to move forward with Oswald Peraza as their shortstop of the future, a Volpe-centric package could also include Luis Medina, Yoendrys Gomez and TJ Sikkema, who has a 40-man roster decision approaching, even though he hasn’t appeared much at the minor-league level (with a 3.32 ERA in eight impressive comeback starts this year).

Without Volpe, the Yankees will need to pay a heftier price behind Dominguez, whose practice power is definitely starting to translate to game power.

He’s also legitimately 19 years old.

If Dominguez fronts the package (aka, if Pittsburgh relents), they can also gain access to Medina, one of Ken Waldichuk/Hayden Wesneski, and power-hitting outfielder Everson Pereira, who’s far too good to continue getting stapled to the back end of these high-profile trade packages. Thank goodness he wasn’t snuck into last summer’s Gallo deal at the last minute, huh?

If the Yankees are actually able to swing a deal for 2.5 years of Reynolds, it’ll sting. Their floating outfield issue will be solved long-term, though, without an Ian Happ/Andrew Benintendi bandage.

At that point, it’ll be all about crossing fingers and hoping the guy they chose outplays the guy who ends up in Toronto.

This Yankees-Andrew Benintendi trade package should be finished by June

This New York Yankees-Andrew Benintendi trade package should be finalized immediately. What have the Kansas City Royals got to lose?